Greatest HIITS

This move improves explosiveness and will help accelerate fat burn once you’ve already pushed through the first four exercises. Start with bent knees, jump as high as possible while raising knees in front of chest, then land softly with knees slightly bent to prevent a knee injury.

The acronym HIIT is ubiquitous in fitness. You can’t escape it, nor should you want to. Short for high-intensity interval training, the method of applying bursts of maximum intensity with periods of rest or low intensity is widely considered the most efficient way to maximize fat burning and enhance conditioning.

Adding to HIIT’s appeal is its versatility— you can use it with everything from Tabata, jumping rope, and body-weight moves to cycling, running, and standard lifts—as well as the ability to provide an exhausting, muscle-taxing workout that you can complete in about 25 minutes or less.

We asked 10 elite trainers and strength coaches to each come up with a kick-ass HIIT session that you can do as a stand-alone or in addition to your current program.

1. Greatest HIIT Heart Rate Hotel

TIME: 10–30 minutes (not including warmup)

ROUNDS: 5–10

WORKOUT

Perform exercises in sequence as fast as possible.

Pushup x 10

Squat x 10

Crunch x 10

Superman x 10

Tuck Jump x 10

Why the name Heart Rate Hotel? Because “it’s terrific as an in-room travel workout,” Peterson explains. If you’re wondering where the rest periods are, technically there are none. “There’s no time in between exercises or rounds other than what it takes you to get in position, sip water, or throw up.”

2. Greatest HIIT Fast and Furious

TIME: 15–20 minutes

WORKOUT

Barbell Back Squat x 10 reps

Body-weight Pullup x 10 reps

Barbell Push Press x 10 reps

Perform six rounds, resting 90 seconds between each round. As conditioning improves, before adding weight to the exercise, drop rest time by 15 seconds per round.

This three-exercise clump hits most of the body’s major muscle groups– glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core via squats; upper back and biceps through pullups; and shoulders, triceps, and core with push presses. It’s a classic vertical push-pull workout arranged into trisets,. It kicks your conditioning into high gear and allows a lifter to be exposed to loaded barbell training. For people who are really hardcore, they can finish this workout with a ‘two-minute back squat challenge.’ Simply load the bar to your body-weight equivalent and perform full repetitions for two full minutes without racking the weight. The rules are simple: Each rep must be performed with full range of motion, and you can rest as long as needed between reps with the bar on your back.”

*30 seconds of running followed by 30 seconds of complete rest = 1 round. Can be done on a treadmill or outside at a park, a track, or a neighborhood street. The speed should be extremely challenging but set to allow for proper running form to be maintained. Adjust the incline up or down accordingly to adapt to your ability or fitness level.

If you’re healthy enough to sprint outdoors or on a treadmill, you always have a HIIT workout at your disposal. Running fast is an underrated human movement that produces results. Look at the sprinters during the upcoming Olympics–any of them overweight? We call these ‘TUF runs’ because they’re sprint workouts that were completed on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) TV show.

3. Greatest HIIT Epic Box Jumps

TIME: 6 minutes

WORKOUT

Eight rounds of 30 seconds of all-out work alternated with 15 seconds of rest.

Rapid Box Jump*

*Box jumps with a 6-, 12-, or 18-inch plyo box and performed at less than full hip extension; the objective is to attain a maximum number of box foot strikes per work interval to keep the focus on speed, agility, and exhausting the fast-twitch muscles.

Tack this workout on to the end of a resistance-training session or combine it with other exercises (such as jumping rope, kettlebell swings, burpees, battling ropes, thrusters, and 10-yard shuttle sprints) following the same format for a longer HIIT session. Try 4–8 moves for a 45-minute class. The eight-round, 2:1 work-to-rest ratio in this speed-based conditioning workout is based on Tabata intervals; the longer exercise and rest bouts are more suitable to most gymgoers.

After experimenting with these intervals for the past four years with more than 10,000 Epic Hybrid Training participants, we’ve found that people don’t ‘ramp up’ into max effort until about five to 10 seconds into their work interval. We’ve also found that the extra rest maximizes recovery for average fitness enthusiasts. We’ve kept the fundamentals of Tabata while incorporating the mental aspect of HIIT that can be easily overlooked.

Rapid Box Jump

Start and land in a quarter-squat position. Elite athletes can jump off the box if training for a timed contest. Otherwise, step off to reduce impact.

You need only one kettlebell to do these two basic and brutally effective moves. Strong, highly conditioned athletes will use a 50- to 70-pound bell, while less-advanced trainees should start with 20 to 30 pounds. This workout is extremely metabolic and builds insane muscular endurance. It targets two fundamental movement patterns–hip hinge and squat–while opening up shortened hip flexors. The active rest turns to just recovery breathing after four rounds because of the workout’s intensity. The lifter won’t be able to keep doing the Upward-facing Dog active recovery because it’ll hinder performance for the work rounds.

5. Greatest HIIT Double Kettlebell Crusher

Use two kettlebells and don’t put them down until the round is finished.

Overhead Carry 50 feet

Clean and Press 5 reps

Rack Walk* 50 feet

Squat 5 reps

Farmer’s Walk 50 feet

Bentover Row 5 reps

Perform two to three rounds total, resting 2–3 minutes between rounds. *Kettlebells held in front of the shoulders with the weights outside your hands while walking with short steps.

A kettlebell workout is one thing, but having to hoist two bells through the entire routine is another. Conditioning, calorie burning, and grip strength are nice benefits, but more than anything you’re developing grit, something you can never have too much of.

We’re guessing a bike will be available for use, since most people monopolize the treadmills and ellipticals. The idea is to work at as high a power level as possible while keeping work consistent for each round. We’ve found that the relative work output to be higher for the reverse Tabatas when considering you’re working for half the time. The goal is to accumulate as many calories as possible across all four intervals.

7. Greatest HIIT Gridiron HIIT

TIME: 60–90 minutes

Broad Jump

Drive your arms back your arms back and aim to jump for distance, not height. Focus on sticking the landing under control control without falling withoutfalling forward forward or backward

WORKOUT

Perform this routine following a 10- to 15-minute dynamic warmup.

Double Hurdle Hop (side to side)*
3 x 30 per leg

4 x 15 seconds

Squat Jump 4 x 10

Alternating Lunge Jump 4 x 8 per leg

Tuck Jump 4 x 10

Broad Jump 3 x 50 yards

Plyometric Pushup 4 x 12

Rest 45–60 seconds between all sets.

FINISHER
Crossfield Gasser x 3**

*Using a small hurdle or comparable tool, jump laterally over hurdle continuously, bringing knees up and landing with feet apart and soft knees.

**Sprint sideline to sideline of a football field three times—that’s one gasser. Try to get each gasser done in under 45 seconds, resting as needed between sets

This is a highly explosive workout that targets power, core strength, stamina, speed, and endurance.

8. Greatest HIIT Pump and Row

TIME: 20 minutes

WORKOUT

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes

Row 250 meters

Pushup x 25

Taking the lead from CrossFit with this high-intensity AMRAP session that hits the posterior chain with rowing and the pecs, shoulders, triceps, and core via pushups. Depending on how hard you row, this could be a real fat burner or, at a slower pace, a steady 20-minute cardio/strength workout. Strap yourself into the rower and set a fast but doable pace. Once you’re done with the row, expeditiously get to the pushups and start in. If you need to break them up into smaller sets, do so but take minimal breaks. This workouts great because you can keep returning to it once a month and track your progress. See if you get more rounds the next time you do it.

Greatest HIIT Man Maker 7 Test

TIME: 21 minutes

WORKOUT

Maximum reps possible in 90 seconds with 90 seconds’ rest between each set

7 sets of Man Makers

Suggested weight of dumbbells (DBs)*:

Beginner

Perform unweighted

Intermediate

20- to 25-pound DBs
(male)/10-pound
DBs (female)

Expert

35-pound DBs (male)/
20-pound DBs (female)

Cyborg

50-pound DBs (male)/
35-pound DBs (female)

*Hexagonal-shape dumbbells are recommended for safety (to minimize rolling side to side on the floor).

Man Makers are more like five exercises; they’re relatable to burpees with a few key additions: First, hold dumbbells in your hands. From the arms-extended plank position, do a pushup, then a row with one arm, another pushup, then a row with the other arm, hop to the standing position, and finish with a hang squat clean to overhead press (no jump at the top). That’s one rep. All movements should be strict— no swinging in the rows or sagging in the pushups—and flow easily from one to the next. If this isn’t possible, the weight you’re using is too heavy.

DB Man Maker

A progression of the traditional burpee, the DB Man Maker engages the core through the entire motion while increasing strength, power, and cardiovascular conditioning. To perform the move unweighted, raise each arm up as if you’re doing a Superman exercise, instead of rowing dumbbells.